1. Field of the Invention
The invention relates to intuitive presentation of ventilation effectiveness including textual and/or graphical representation of respiratory rate, tidal volume, and/or volumetric components of tidal volume.
2. Description of the Related Art
During mechanical ventilation of a subject, various settings such as tidal volume, respiratory rate, and/or other settings may be adjusted on a mechanical ventilator to deliver minute ventilation sufficient to support metabolism. The delivered minute ventilation may be reduced by the presence of dead space, which includes airways and alveoli that are ventilated but do not participate in gas exchange in the lungs of the subject. Ventilation exceeding volume of dead space is thus available for gas exchange, and may be referred to as effective alveolar minute ventilation. The effective alveolar minute ventilation is critical for gas exchange during tidal ventilation. If, for example, a user of a mechanical ventilator (e.g., a caregiver, a therapy decision-maker, etc.) sets the delivered minute ventilation without accounting for loss of ventilation to the dead space, the subject may be under-ventilated.